Image Analysis to Determine the Ice Layer Tilt during Line Drop Operations at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory.

IceCube is a Neutrino Observatory located in the geographic South Pole. It has been at the forefront of astrophysics research for over a decade. It is composed of strings lined with Digital Optical Modules (DOMs) that go deep into the ice, ready to detect Cherenkov radiation (or the Cherenkov light) generated by neutrinos interactions with matter. In two years, IceCube is going to be undergoing an upgrade with 7 new strings being deployed in the dense center of the detector. Our ability to reconstruct the path and energy of a neutrino greatly depends on the extent to which we understand the properties of the ice. In the IceCube Upgrade, the DOMs will have LEDs and cameras we can use for image analysis to better understand the properties of the ice. My research is focused on using images produced from camera simulations to imitate conditions during the line drop operations and perform a maximum likelihood analysis to estimate the ice layer tilt. In this presentation, I will show the results of finding the sensitivity of an image parameter used to find the scattering length of the ice. Eventually, this analysis may be used on images taken during the deployment of the IceCube Upgrade. This will enhance our ability to reconstruct the neutrino interaction events and allow for more in-depth analyses of the properties and origin of neutrinos.